More Stories from the July 15, 2006 issue
- Earth
Warning: Slow down for whales
To protect a major population of right whales, the U.S. government is proposing periodic go-slow rules for big ships passing through the animals' migration routes.
- Health & Medicine
Mad cow disease might linger longer
A rare but deadly human illness spread by cannibalism has an incubation period in some individuals of about 4 decades.
- Earth
Asbestos fibers: Barking up a tree
Sixteen years after a mine with asbestos-contaminated ore shut down, trees in the area still hold hazardous concentrations of wind-deposited asbestos.
- Health & Medicine
Growth hormone’s risks outweigh its benefits
Human growth hormone has substantial risks and no functional benefits for healthy, elderly people.
- Anthropology
Did small hominids have a genetic defect?
Miniature humans whose prehistoric remains were recently unearthed on an Indonesian island may have had a genetic disease known as Laron syndrome.
- Health & Medicine
Thyroid-hormone mimic lowers LDL
A compound in a new class of potential anti-cholesterol drugs has passed an early test in people.
- Health & Medicine
In utero factors shape responses to stress, sugar
Abnormal conditions during pregnancy can lead in unexpected ways to physiological problems in children once they reach adulthood.
- Humans
Close Your Books: Cuts, shutdowns loom for EPA libraries
Some regional libraries maintained by the Environmental Protection Agency will permanently shut their doors because of a proposed cut to their funding.
- Astronomy
Explosive Aftermath: Sluggish neutron star puzzles astronomers
An X-ray–emitting object at the heart of a young supernova remnant doesn't fit the textbook view of what a stellar explosion is supposed to leave behind.
- Animals
Live Prey for Dummies: Meerkats coach pups on hunting
Meerkats easing their pups into the job of handling live prey are among the few animal species shown so far to be natural teachers. With audio.
- Tech
Farm-Fuel Feedback: Soybeans have advantages over corn
A new analysis of two biofuels finds that while both provide more energy than they consume, soybean biodiesel gives more bang for the buck than ethanol made from corn.
- Anthropology
Little Ancestor, Big Debate: Tiny islanders’ identity sparks dispute
New measurements bolster the 2-year-old claim that fossils of a half-size human ancestor found on an Indonesian island represent a new species.
- Health & Medicine
Keep on Going: Busy seniors live longer, more proof that it pays to stay active
Healthy elderly people who burn a lot of calories each day may be gaining extra years of life.
- Earth
Radiation Redux: Forest fires remobilize fallout from bomb tests
A sensor installed to monitor fallout from modern nuclear tests has detected small amounts of radioactive cesium produced by bomb tests decades ago and sent skyward by forest fires.
- Health & Medicine
Statins might lower risk of cataracts
Cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins might slow the formation of certain types of cataracts in the eye.
- Tech
Smells Like the Real Thing
Chemical sensors that take cues from the mammalian pattern-based approach to identifying odors and flavors create colorful readouts that even the eyes can distinguish.
-
- Humans
Letters from the July 15, 2006, issue of Science News
People want to know “Sharing the Health: Cells from unusual mice make others cancerfree” (SN: 5/13/06, p. 292) reported that years ago it was discovered that certain male mice eradicate cancer cells and that white blood cells from these mice make normal mice cancer resistant. It also reported that it is superpremature to look forward […]
